The work of Boulder-based photographer James Balog is the focus of the documentary Chasing Ice. He is shown here with a backdrop of icebergs at Ilulissat Isfjord, UNESCO World Heritage site, Disko Bay Greenland.
(Courtesy photo)

Members of a Boulder-based team of filmmakers woke up to some colder-than-hoped-for news Thursday: "Chasing Ice," the documentary that gives startling visual evidence to climate change, was not nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary.

The film, directed by Jeff Orlowski, follows Boulder photographer James Balog's Extreme Ice Survey, in which Balog and assistants documented melting glaciers in the northern hemisphere over a period of three years.

"Chasing Ice," co-produced by Boulder residents Jerry Aronson and Paula Dupre Pesmen, was one of 15 films up for nomination in the Best Documentary Feature category, but it was not one of the five nominees announced during a news conference in Los Angeles on Thursday morning.

Though not for up for Best Documentary, "Chasing Ice" will be represented at the 85th Academy Awards ceremony, scheduled for Feb. 24. New York City-based composer J. Ralph's song "Before My Time," which plays at the film's end, was nominated in the Music (Original Song) category.

"We're really thrilled that the song was nominated because that will help continue with awareness," said Dupre Pesmen, a veteran producer who produced 2009's Academy Award-winning documentary "The Cove," made by Boulder's Louis Psihoyos and Fisher Stevens.

Scarlett Johansson sang "Before My Time" for "Chasing Ice," and Dupre Pesmen said the actress wants to attend the Oscars ceremony and perform the number.

The lack of a nomination in the Best Documentary category doesn't affect the film's message, Aronson added.

"I am incredibly proud of 'Chasing Ice,'" said Aronson, the former longtime head of the University of Colorado Film Studies Production program. "It presents a ground-level view to audiences of what is happening to our planet through the extraordinary photographic talent and passion of James Balog."

Boulder wasn't completely shut out in Thursday's Oscar announcement, either. John August, who was born in Boulder, wrote the screenplay for "Frankenweenie," which was nominated in the animated-feature category. And Amy Adams, who grew up in Castle Rock and acted at Boulder's Dinner Theater in 1994, was nominated for best supporting actress for her role in "The Master."

If you haven't seen "Chasing Ice," the Boulder Theater just announced an added screening of the film for Wednesday. Aronson said it's scheduled for worldwide broadcast on National Geographic later this year, and it continues to screen at theaters across the country.

Using time-lapse photography, Balog and his team captured striking images of massive ice landscapes disappearing more quickly than expected in "Chasing Ice." The film, its makers say, provides a first-hand look at the results of global climate change.

"Truthfully, this film wasn't made for awards, this film was made for the next generation, for people that need to know what's going on," Dupre Pesmen said.

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